How Sleep Deprivation Affects Your Ability to Drive

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) considers drowsy driving to be a serious public health concern. A policy statement issued by the association claims that driving while sleep deprived can have the same consequences as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

How serious is the problem?

According to the AASM, 328,000 crashes annually in the U.S. can be blamed on drowsy driving, including 6,400 fatal crashes — and those aged between 16 and 24 are most at risk.

Making the risk even greater is the fact that drowsy driving can be hard to identify; the AASM revealed that some drivers weren’t even aware they had fallen asleep at the wheel, even if they were asleep for a few minutes.

Is a specific driving skill affected?

A 2016 European study published in Biological Psychology set out to determine how sleep deprivation affects driving performance.

Each participant drove 100 kilometers (60 miles) on a highway, accompanied by a licensed driving instructor. Participants were tasked with maintaining a constant speed and a steady position in their driving lane, except when passing slower vehicles.

Participants followed the routine once after a night of normal sleep, and once after a night of total sleep deprivation.

Researchers found that compared to drivers who had enjoyed a night of normal sleep, sleep deprived drivers were significantly less capable of maintaining their driving trajectory. In other words, sleep deprived drivers weaved on the road more than drivers who had slept well.

Interestingly, the study found that when drivers approached the halfway point and the endpoint of the driving task, they weaved less. As the authors of the study pointed out, this may suggest that even a short break during driving could improve driving performance.

It’s worth noting that seven of the sleep-deprivation driving tests were terminated prematurely. In one case, the driving instructor judged the participant to be too drowsy to safely continue driving. In the remaining cases, participants themselves felt too drowsy to continue driving in a safe manner.

Pay attention to the warning signs

As it’s possible to fall asleep at the wheel for short periods of time without realizing it, it’s good to be aware of the symptoms of drowsy driving. These include:

Frequent yawning

Drifting out of your lane

Missing road turns or signs

Difficulty maintaining your speed

Difficulty keeping your eyes open

Inability to remember driving the last few miles

If you notice any of these symptoms, it’s important to pull over and rest. As the 2016 study suggested, even a small break can be helpful.

Make sure that if you are planning a long journey, you get enough sleep beforehand. It can also be helpful to share the driving with other passengers if they are feeling more alert than you.

Make sleep a priority

Sleep quality is important throughout our lives; not just before a car journey! If you are living with sleep issues, don’t ignore them — seek help and you could improve many more aspects of your life, including your overall health.

Martin is the creator of Insomnia Land’s free insomniasleep training for adults. His online course uses CBT techniques to teach participants how to fall asleep without relying on sleeping pills. More than 4,000 insomniacs have completed his course and 97 percent of graduates say they would recommend it to a friend.

Martin is the creator of Insomnia Land’s free insomnia sleep training. His online course uses CBT techniques to teach participants how to sleep better without relying on sleeping pills. More than 5,000 insomniacs have completed his course and 97 percent of graduates say they would recommend it to a friend.